Donald Trump supporter Sen. Tom Cotton (R-AR) on Sunday declined to give a straight answer to Fox News host Chris Wallace when he was asked if the Republican nominee was “ready” to be president of the United States.

“How do you feel about Donald Trump’s readiness to be president?” Wallace queried Cotton during an interview on Fox News Sunday, pointing out that Trump had attacked the family of a dead soldier, had a questionable relationship with Russia and had raised the possibility of refusing to defend NATO allies.

“I’ve had my disagreements with Donald Trump,” Cotton admitted. “I’ve stated them clearly in the past and I will in the future. Donald Trump ought not have said some of those things that you just recounted but Hillary Clinton should not have done the things that she’s done.”

“She is in no small measure responsible for the deaths of four Americans in Benghazi and she lied to the faces of their families,” the Arkansas Republican continued. “She set up an unsecure server in which she used classified information that put Americans at risk. And then she lied about it for a year.”

Wallace did not dispute Cotton’s assertions about Clinton, but he did push for an answer on the question of Trump’s readiness.

“Are you confident that Donald Trump is ready to be commander-in-chief?” Wallace wondered.

“I am confident that if the American people elect Donald Trump as president and a Republican Congress that this country will be safer in the world,” Cotton opined. “Our streets will be safer and we will be more prosperous.”

About the Author

David Edwards has served as an editor at Raw Story since 2006. His work can also be found at Crooks & Liars, and he's also been published at The BRAD BLOG. He came to Raw Story after working as a network manager for the state of North Carolina and as as engineer developing enterprise resource planning software. Follow him on Twitter at @DavidEdwards.